Press for heel-attached shoe bottoms



Dec. 12, 1961 H. E. MARASCO PRESS FOR HEEL-ATTACHED snore: BOTTOMS Original Filed Feb. 16, 1959 INVENTOR. HAROLD E. MARASCO FIG. 2

ATTO R N EYS United States Patent 3,012,259 PRESS vFOR HEEL-ATTACHED SHOE BOTTOMS Harold E. Marasco, :Swampscott, Mass., assignor to Marmco Shoe Machinery Company, Incorporated, Lynn, Mass, a corporation of Delaware Original application Feb. 16, 1959,53. No. 7533,6211, now Patent No. 2,962,736, dated Dec. 6,1960. Divided and this application June 29, 1960, Ser. No. 39,594

2 Claims. (Cl. 1233) This invention relates to presses for use in laying and adhesively attachingsoles to shoe bottoms having a heel already attached. The present application is a division of my co-pending application Serial No. 793,621, entitled Press for Heel-Attached Shoe Bottoms, filed February 16, 1959, now United States Patent No. 2,962,736, granted on December 6, 1960.

The present invention comprises a new and improved sole .press capable of handling shoes with heel-attached bottoms and having also provision for laying and adhesively attaching the usual leaf to the breast face of the already attached heel.

An important feature of the invention resides in a pad box having a forepart section containing a flexible pad that includes a relatively flat portion for engaging the forepart of the shoe bottom and also an upright portion disposed at substantially right angles thereto for engaging the breast surface of the attached heel and pressing a heelbreast leaf into placeat thesame time that the forepart portion of the pad is subjecting the sole as a whole to the desired sole-laying pressure.

It will be apparent that in practice the heel-breast engaging portion of the pad will exert a powerful rearward pressure against the heel. Another feature of the present invention therefore resides in means for engaging the rear surface of the heel to counterbalance this pressure and resist the rearward thrust against the heel-breast face of the attached heel.

According to the present invention, such counterbalancing means takes the form of an abutment member that is advanced by fluid pressure means against the rear face of the heel, at the time of inflation of the forepart pad, in such a manner as to balance the rearward pressure of the pad on the heel-breast and insure conforming engagement of the breast face of the heel with the heelbreast leaf. These means are adapted to automatically accommodate heels of varying thickness, without an intervening adjustment operation.

These and other features of the invention will be best understood and appreciated from the following description of a preferred embodiment thereof, selected for purposes of illustration and shown in the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a view in longitudinal section of the press, showing the shoe in process of sole laying; and

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary plan view of the abutment member of FIG. 1.

The press of my invention is illustrated without any showing of the elements which inflate the pad box and supply fluid pressure to the abutment member and the overhead means for holding the heel-attached shoe in operative position. Such press elements form no part of the invention, and may be of commercial construction, or such as those shown in my prior US. Patent No. 2,813,282 granted November 19, 1957.

The forepart pad box, generally designated 10, has a bottom 11 merging into an upright peripheral wall 12 designed to enclose, with considerable clearance, the shank and forepart of the shoe under sole-laying treatment. The bottom of the pad box terminates at its rear end in a downwardly projecting transverse flange 11'.

A flexible two ply pad 13 is" shaped for its intended "ice 2. functions by having a substantially flat forepart portion which is molded at its rear end to present an upwardly and rearwardly inclined shank-engaging portion terminating in a sharp fold vertex. 14 and thence merging into a substantially vertical heel-breast engaging portion i5. The margins of the forepart portion are clamped to the top edge of the peripheral wall 12 by a beveled ring 17 fastened by bolts 18, while the lower margin of the vertical portion 15 is deflected forwardly and clamped to the flange 11' by bolts 16. The forepart section of the pad box has a fluid pressure inlet19 beneath the pad 13. The forepart pad box is secured to a support member 2f forming a portion of the press.

In order to offset the rearward pressure of the heelbreast engaging portion 15 of the pad, connterbalancing means are provided, comprising a forked abutment memher 43 having a curved cushion 44 for engaging a rear curved face 26 of a heel 27. The abutment member is mounted on and actuated by expansible chamber means, comprising a piston 45 working in a fluid pressure cylinder 46 mounted upon the support member 2%. Compressed air or other fluid is admitted to the cylinder by a pipe 47 threaded therein, to actuate the. piston against the return bias of a compression spring as.

In order to support a shoe in sole-laying position in the press, a threaded toe post 559 and a heel: post 52 are carried by an arm 53 of the press. These posts are arranged as in the press of my previous patent above identified. The heel post is actuated by a piston, 54 working in a fluid-pressure cylinder 55, against the bias of a compression spring 56. Compressed air or other fluid is admitted to the cylinder through a pipe 57 to actuate the heel post.

In practice, a molded sole 60 having a split breast leaf 61 is first cemented or activated, and then carefully applied or spotted by hand upon the shoe bottom, the leaf 61 being laid against the heel-breast. At this time a last 62 remains in the shoe and the heel 27 has been attached to the heel seat of the shoe bottom. The shoe in this condition is placed upon the pad 13 with the heel 27 inserted between the breast engaging portion 15 of the pad and the forked abutment member 43. The shoe is supported in this position by the toe post 50 and heel post 52, the latter being actuated by a suitable source of compressed air (not shown).

The inlet 19 of the pad box and the pipe 47 are connected with the piping and valves of a compressed air system (not shown) in such manner that pressure may be admitted and released from the pad box and the cylinder 46 simultaneously or in any desired timed relation. The compressed air system may follow the general teaching as shown in my aforementioned patent and may be arranged to admit equal pressures to the pad box and the cylinder 46. However, the relative pressures should be selected with reference to the physical constants of the press in such a manner that the thrust exerted upon the heel by the abutment member 43 balances the rearward thrust of the heel-breast engaging portion 15, and the portion 15 does not displace the shoe rearwardly from its engagement with the toe post 50. Any rearward movement of the shoe might result in incomplete engagement of the pad 13 with the leaf 61, and in imperfect laying of the sole and attachment of the leaf with the heel breast.

The pad 13 is forced upwardly against the sole, conforming it fully to the contour of the last bottom and pressing the leaf 27 against the heel breast with sufficient pressure to cause permanent adhesive bonding to take place. Pressure is maintained for a predetermined interval, and at the conclusion thereof pressure is released and the shoe removed from the press.

As already explained, the rearward thrust of the pad portion 15 is resisted and balanced by the thrust of the abutment member 43, in such a manner that the pad may fully conform the sole 60 and the leaf 61 to the last and heel. The provision of a fluid pressure-actuated abutment member facilitates the use of the press with shoes having heels of various thicknesses, and eliminates any need for an intervening adjustment, in that the position of the abutment member is rapidly and automatically adjusted to engage varying heels in the correct position to conform a leaf 61 with the heel breast. Furthermore, the pressure of the portion 15 of the pad is accurately and automatically counterbalanced by these means, which insures that the shoe will maintain a fixed position in engagement With the toe post.

An important advantage derived from the construction above, described is that the spring 48 normally and initial- 'ly holds the forked pad 44 at a position remote from the breast engaging portion 15 of the pad thus providing ample space to enter the heel of the shoe in operative position. In operation therefore a wide open space'is provided for the heel, making it easy to place the shoe in the machine preparatory to the pressing operation.

It will be appreciated that the press of my invention accelerates the shoe-making process because the steps of laying the sole and of adhesively attaching the heel-breast leaf are effected simultaneously instead of'successively and by dilferent operations as heretofore.

While I have illustrated and described a preferred embodiment of my invention, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. I intend to cover all such changes and modifications in the appended claims.

1. A sole press for attaching shoe bottoms to shoes to which the heel is attached and while the shoe is on a last, said press comprising a forepart pad box having a fluid pressure inlet and a flexible pad peripherally sealed upon said box, said pad having a sole-engaging portion and a heel-breast engaging portion disposed at substantially right angles thereto, a fluid-actuated abutment member constructed and arranged to engage a rear surface of the heel and a fluid actuated heel post constructed and arranged to engage the heel post portion of the last and in combination with said abutment member to counterbalance the upward and rearward pressure of said pad upon the heel breast uniformly and in a constant direction independently of the size of the shoe and last.

2. A sole press as recited in claim 1, together with first spring means for biasing said abutment member away from the rear surface of the heel and second spring means for biasing said heel post away from the heel post portion of the last upon the release of fluid pressure, whereby heels of various sizes may be inserted between said abutment member and said heel breast engaging portion when said heel abutment member is in the withdrawn position.

References Cited in the tile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,813,282 Marasco Nov. 19, 1957 2,916,750 Ralphs et al Dec. 15, 1959 FOREIGN PATENTS 639,337 France June 19, 1928 748,834 France July 10, 1933 1,163,779 France Apr. 28, 1958 1,168,417 France Sept. 1, 1958 

